Volunteering for Our Schools

Upper Arlington Schools and the Board of Education recognize that certain programs and activities can be enhanced through the use of volunteers who have particular knowledge or skills beneficial to those programs and activities. There are certain situations when volunteers will have to submit an online background check, obtain approval to volunteer and get an ID badge.

The volunteers required to submit a background check applies to the those who are involved in unsupervised contact with access to student(s) on or off campus. Examples of these types of volunteers are below:

Any person who volunteers on an ongoing and regular basis in the classroom for a school event in which they might be supervising students or have access to confidential information.

Any person who might work with students without another school employee present in the classroom. An example would be volunteers who read with or work with students in a small group outside of the classroom. Or, a person who may escort students in to the restroom or office while the group activity is occurring elsewhere.

Any person who might be with students outdoors and is not continuously visible to UA staff and there is no other authorized school employee. An example would be volunteers who chaperone field trips where they may have students in small groups and separated from other UA staff chaperones.

If the volunteer activity does not involve unsupervised contact with access to students, then an online background check is not required for these volunteers.

Examples include, but are not limited to, classroom helpers working in conjunction with building staff, field day volunteers, book fair volunteers, classroom visitors for presentations or celebrations, adults who do not volunteer on a regular basis and are never alone with students.

Volunteers are required to abide by all Board polices and District guidelines while on duty as a volunteer, included but not limited to maintaining confidentiality of any student personally identifiable information to which she/he is exposed except as authorized by law. Volunteers will be covered under the District’s general liability policy, but the District cannot provide any type of health insurance to cover illness or accident incurred while serving as a volunteer, nor is the person eligible for workers’ compensation.

If your volunteer activities require a background check, please visit our Volunteer Background Check Process webpage to read more about the process and find a link to the online background check form.